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NPMS students sending project to edge of space
BAINBRIDGE — Four North Putnam Middle School students and their project might just represent the next “October Sky.”
Christian Kramer, William Smith, Gavin Simonson and Kaleb Walton were recently selected by NASA as the winners of the TECHRISE program. Rising to the challenge with sponsorship of NPMS science teacher Randy Funk, the students were selected as one of the 57 entries in the nation.
Smith saw an opportunity to challenge himself and help pursue his dreams when he googled “NASA Challenge: last year. With the permission of principal Bucky Kramer and support from Funk, the four students set out to develop their project.
“I really want to work for NASA one day, and my friends want to as well,” Smith said. “So I figure if I can get a group of friends that could help, then we can do it.”
“I was excited when I heard about this,” Kramer said. “I want to be an aerospace engineer one day, and I just saw this as an opportunity to help me chase my dreams.”
With their roles figured out, Smith, Kramer, Simonson and Walton began putting together a project to test sunscreen against the sun on the ground and in the air at high elevations using plastic bags and balloons. The project goal is to see if astronauts or pilots can use sunscreen to protect them from solar radiation.
“Using plastic baggies, we’re going to put sunscreen on them and then have an exposed sensor, sending it up in a ballon to see how much radiation gets through to each sensor,” Smith explained. “We’ll do the same experiment on the ground to see if the sunscreen works better at higher altitudes than on the ground since the sunscreen is exposed to more radiation at higher altitudes.”
NASA announced the challenge in June 2021, with Nov. 3 as the deadline. Smith found out about the challenge in August.
“We had two months less than everyone else to start this project, we didn’t get done with our first meeting until October and then we started to get everything ready,” Smith said. “We didn’t submit the project until the last day.”
“Crunch time,” Walton added.
Four months of work led to the boys’ project being selected out of around 600 schools in the country. Happiness was an understatement when they found out they had been selected as one of 57 winners.
“I lost my voice when we found out we won,” Walton said. “We were all ecstatic, jumping around because it’s a big thing. A small school in Indiana just won something that 600 others schools didn’t.”
“Twenty miles from here, some schools don’t even know who we are and knowing that we won was amazing. I was so happy, and I’m still happy,” Kramer said
“I was so happy and incredibly proud of them,” Funk said. “They approached me, and I helped by them bouncing ideas off of me. They put in the rest of the work and submitted the project.”
Funk says that with help from NASA advisers, when construction and testing the project begins, it will show careers out there beyond school.
Each of the four boys hopes to impact the world by pursuing their dreams. Smith, Kramer and Walton hope to work for NASA and send astronauts to the moon and one day Mars. Simonson hopes to become a teacher, inspire the next generation of students and help them achieve their dreams.
“Strive to be the best you can. The worst that can happen is nothing,” Kramer said when giving some advice to other students pursuing their dreams.
“You might get a little disappointment, but you get some experience of out it,” Walton said. “Sometimes it’s worth going down the rabbit hole.”
“The big thing is it doesn’t matter about the size of the school or how many students are in the group. Anyone can do it, so take that chance,” Simonson said.
“And maybe don’t wait till the last minute to turn in the project,” Smith said, making everyone laugh.
Bucky Kramer says what the boys did is incredible and shows what students can do anywhere.
“Winning this challenge shows kids it doesn’t matter where you are from,” Kramer said. “You can change the world.”
Much like the four boys in the movie “October Sky,” these four middle school students from a small midwest town are reaching for the stars, chasing their dreams and showing the world that anyone who puts in the time, effort and drive can pursue their dreams.